A Measure of Affection
by VespertineFlora
Summary: A year after Zuko's coronation, the gang meets up and Zuko is glad to be with his friends again. However, it isn't long before Sokka discovers an assassination plot on Zuko's life. Can he save Zuko before the plan goes into action?  Sokka/Zuko fluff
1. Chapter 1

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Sokka/Zuko)

The focus shifts between Zuko and Sokka.

Any spoilers? It's set a year after the end of the series, so unless you didn't know Aang was going to win and Zuko would be Fire Lord, no, not really.

Also, I hate that after seven years, still has the stupidest and most complicated submission requirements on any site of the internet.

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><p>The year since Zuko's coronation as Fire Lord had been a hectic one. His ascension to the throne, while fairly well received by the other nations, had not gone over so well at home. There were the select few in the capital and scattered individuals throughout the nation that supported him, but...<p>

One hundred years of war had altered his nation. The citizens of his country had been mentally trained to believe that they were the best-that other nations, other people, were not as great as them. There were many people who whole-heartedly believed that the Fire Nation deserved to rule the world and when Zuko declared the war was over, they took it as a sign of cowardice and weakness.

There was some distrust from the citizens of other nations, of course, but Zuko had not assumed that every member of the other nations would immediately trust him. He had known that it would take years of hard work for the other nations to trust the Fire Nation again. The world would not be so quick to forgive an entire century of warfare and destruction. But Zuko accepted this. He expected it.

What he hadn't expected was to face opposition from his very own people. Though his coronation had been full of men and women who supported him and the direction he hoped to aim the nation, he had since visited parts of the country with citizens who hollered and hissed at him, citizens who threw half-rotten cabbages. He had been told that his father had had good reason to banish him and that it had been too merciful a punishment. Crowds had hollered that his father should have simply killed him in the Agni Kai that had scarred him so greatly.

Though for every village like that there were ten villages that simply wanted to prosper or wanted to see long gone relatives return from war, Zuko couldn't help but feel beaten down by the citizens that would have liked nothing more than to see Ozai reigning the world as the Phoenix King.

So he had travelling the country, visiting villages one by one, trying to enforce the idea that ending the war was good for the nation, that it was good for the people. He didn't think he'd actually managed to convince a single person yet.

It had been a long, long year.

Though right now he had a slightly more... personal issue he was trying to sort out.

He raised his fist to knock on the door to Sokka's room, but hesitated. He wasn't sure what he was doing, even after mulling it over for days.

It had been months since the team had been together, each having been out on their own missions. While Zuko had been touring the Fire Nation, Sokka had gone to the Northern Water Tribe, Toph back to the Earth Kingdom, while Aang and Katara had chosen to travel together through various parts of the world. All of it was diplomatic, of course, each asking those they visited what the Fire Nation could do to improve their relationship with each part of the world. They had all been keeping contact through mail, up until now.

Yesterday, Zuko had arrived at the royal vacation palace, just a few hours travel outside the Fire Nation capital. Zuko had arranged to meet everyone there by the next day so that they could gather their findings. In three days, on the anniversary of his coronation, Zuko was planning to address the nation to update them on how they were faring with other parts of the world and what he needed those loyal to him to do in order to help the country.

Late that evening, Sokka had shown up at the palace's gates. Zuko had been surprised at the difference a half a year had made in the young man. Even in such a short time, Sokka seemed to have shot up at least two inches, making him a little taller than Zuko now, his shoulders broadening slightly. His hair was starting to grow out as well, Zuko noting to himself that Sokka really did resemble his father. After the teen had eaten enough meat for three of Zuko's soldiers, he was shown his quarters and said he was going to retire, as he'd spent the entire day traveling and was exhausted. Zuko had understood.

But he didn't know who else he could talk to. There was no one else his age, no one that he was close enough to that he could even feel comfortable enough with to breech the topic.

And it would probably be best to get this out of the way, before the others showed up the next day.

The young Fire Lord inhaled deeply and knocked.

After a moment, there was still no answer, so Zuko knocked again.

Just as Zuko was about to give up, the door opened to reveal Sokka in the middle of a huge yawn, face scrunched and mouth open wide, clothes frumpled and hair messy; he'd obviously been sleeping. As the yawn ended, he slumped against the doorframe, eyeing Zuko sleepily, "What's up, Fire Lord?"

Zuko didn't think he'd heard anyone make the title sound so casual before, but then, he hadn't heard Sokka actually refer to him as the "Fire Lord" before now. Instead of acting on his original intentions, however, he stalled. "I'm sorry, I woke you. I'll just..."

But Sokka waved him off before he could finish, wagging his hand at him and waving him inside. The tanned teen moved back to his bed, where the sheets were rumpled, and sat down on the edge of it. As Zuko entered the room and shut the door behind him, Sokka began to look a bit more alert. He asked again, "What's going on?"

Zuko approached Sokka's bed, but only sat down after a moment of hesitation, taking a spot on the very end of the bed, as far as he could sit from Sokka without falling to the floor. For some reason, the thought of sitting any closer just... felt weird, like a forbidden breach of personal space.

"I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something. It's..." Zuko hesitated just a moment more before gathering his courage and just blurting it out, "about Mai."

A frown flickered onto Sokka's mouth before his whole face became very, very impassive. He nodded to indicate that Zuko should continue.

Zuko's head turned from Sokka, unable to look at the teen. "Well, uh. She wants to, um. You know."

"I do?"

Zuko nodded, feeling his face heating up. Even thinking about it was ridiculously embarrassing, but he'd started now and there was no stopping. "We've been talking and she says she wants to... you know."

"Play the tsungi horn?" Sokka suggested.

"What?" Zuko's head snapped back to Sokka, his embarrassment broken by sheer confusion. How in the world had Sokka gotten that out of what he'd said?

But Sokka was grinning ever so slightly at him and he repeated himself, with emphasis, "Yeah. She wants you guys to _play the tsungi horn_, right?"

"Yes," Zuko confirmed quickly. Somehow, the euphemism made this discussion about a million times easier. "Yes, the tsungi horn. She wants us to play. She said that she's been waiting a long time and that she thinks we should play it."

Sokka prompted, "And the problem is?"

"I don't think I know how to play," Zuko explained with only minimal flushing.

"And you wanted to talk to me about this?" Sokka questioned him with an eyebrow raised.

Zuko blushed harder and tried to explain, "Yeah. You're kind of my only friend. And I know you have some experience," he almost stopped, but then quickly amended, "with the tsungi horn. I mean, I saw you and the Kyoshi warrior together. I kind of figured..."

Sokka let out a sharp laugh, "You mean Suki? That was over months ago."

"Really?" Zuko started, taken aback.

"Yeah," Sokka answered with a nonchalant shrug, "I had to focus on my work with the water tribe and she needed to spend time with the Warriors in the Earth Kingdom. We both thought breaking it off was for the best."

"O-oh." Zuko's head fell, unsure of what to think, or if he should continue.

The younger teen decided for him. "But really? You don't know how to play? Is that the only problem, because nobody knows at first. Everything takes practice."

Zuko wasn't sure if he had the will to confess the real problem, but... Sokka seemed so eager to listen, and this was the reason he'd come in here. "Well... Mai's kind of enthusiastic about it, but any time she... tries to give me a lesson, I can't get... interested. I don't know if I want to... play the tsungi horn."

Sokka seemed thoughtful for a moment, a hand on his chin. It was a look Zuko realized he recognized; it was the same look Sokka got on his face when he was trying to create a plan. Obviously, he was considering his answer hard.

"Well," Sokka finally started after a moment, "maybe the tsungi horn isn't the instrument for you."

"But what if I'm just nervous? What if I'm so nervous, it's just... hiding how much I want to play?" Zuko questioned weakly.

But Sokka shook his head. "No, even if you were nervous about playing, you'd still know if you wanted to, trust me. Playing an instrument really lets you overcome any nervousness you might have, if you've found the right one. Like I said, maybe the tsungi horn's not for you. Maybe you'd rather play... the zheng, or the pipa, or something."

Zuko was only half-sure he understood what Sokka was suggesting as the metaphor became a bit deluded. He protested vaguely, dropping the instrument references, "But I... care about Mai. She's really been there for me, and she cares about me too."

Throwing his hands up defensively, Sokka carried on, "Liking the music an instrument makes and actually wanting to play that instrument are not one in the same, friend. You might like the sound of the tsungi horn, but if you have to force yourself to play it, you won't make anyone happy. If you don't want to play the tsungi horn, now or ever, the best thing you can do is just be upfront about it. You're not doing the tsungi horn a favor by forcing yourself to make music with it."

Zuko couldn't help but feel Sokka had gotten carried away in his own metaphor. After a stunned moment wherein Zuko attempted to decode what had been said, he said blankly, "You lost me."

Sokka sighed with a touch of exasperation, with a look that seemed to express that he expected no less of the socially-stunted Fire Lord. There was a bluntness to his voice as he translated, "Maybe you're just not attracted to Mai. If you were, you'd feel it, no matter how nervous you are. If you two have tried anything and nothing... you know, fires up, then chances are, you're not attracted to her and you probably never will be. And you might just need to break it off, because trying to do something just to spare her feelings is only going to hurt her more in the end. You get it now?"

Oh, he got it, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. It was hard to wrap his mind around what Sokka had told him. He nodded faintly, then stood from Sokka's bed and excused himself. "I, uh... should let you get to bed. It's late."

And before Sokka could say anything in protest, Zuko left the room and hurried back to his own.

_break_

Sokka watched helplessly as Zuko hurried out of the room. After the door slammed, he couldn't help but feel maybe he was wrong. Maybe Zuko was just nervous. After all, how could Sokka know how Zuko felt about anything, much less Mai?

He just couldn't help but feel... opposed to Mai. He wasn't even sure why. At first, he'd thought it was just because she'd once been their enemy, but so had Zuko, and Sokka had long since been over that.

It was just that every time he thought of her, his brain flashed back to the time he'd walked in on her and Zuko sharing a kiss and it felt like someone had punched him square in the sternum. Trying to imagine Zuko and Mai going any further stirred up that pain. Sokka hadn't reflected on just what that might mean. He was altogether sure he didn't want to.

After a minute more, he felt fed up with himself. Maybe he'd been too harsh with Zuko. Listening had never been his greatest skill, but he could have tried a little harder to let Zuko explain himself. Breaking up with Mai certainly couldn't have been the only conclusion. He should go talk to him. Sokka sighed at himself, ran his hand through his hair to smooth it out, and then got up and left the room.

But the palace was larger than he'd thought and his sense of direction betrayed him. He'd thought that Zuko's room had been around a corner, down the hall, and down a flight of stairs, on the left, but... maybe it had been down the hall, downstairs, and around a corner? Or downstairs, around a corner, and down a hall…

Thirty minutes later, he was hopelessly lost. He'd gotten himself so turned around he wasn't even sure which direction his own room was anymore.

It was only after getting lost that he remembered that Zuko had told him not to go wandering. He'd said that both this and the royal palace had been built in such a way so as to specifically confuse intruders. It gave his family and his soldiers a sort of home town advantage in case of an invasion.

Sokka sighed to himself again and slowed his pace. He could only hope now that maybe he'd come across a landmark of some sort-he was starting to feel really exhausted, and the last thing he wanted to do was fall asleep in the hallway, especially when there was such a cozy bed waiting for him.

After another ten minutes or so of aimless wandering, Sokka heard voices up ahead. Soldiers! Surely, he was a bit embarrassed that he'd gotten lost, but he really just wanted to get back to his room.

But as Sokka approached the end of the hall, he couldn't help but notice that the men were conversing in tense whispers.

"...out of the way already."

Suspicions immediately alerted, Sokka pressed himself to the wall, edging along it silently. He strained his ears to focus on the hushed voices around the corner.

"Patience, Yun. The speech is in three days. All will happen in due time, my friend." He heard a hand clap down on a padded shoulder. "Now come, we're not to discuss this outside the Colonel's chambers."

Their footsteps started in his direction and Sokka immediately tried not to look suspicious. He conjured up the most innocent look he knew as the soldiers rounded the corner.

Both men seemed taken aback to see him there, and the older of the two (the one who wasn't Yun, Sokka noted), said with surprise, "Master Sokka. What are you doing this far from your room?"

Sokka grinned, chuckled faintly, and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I was heading for the bathroom, and I, uh... got lost. This place is huge, you know?"

The soldiers exchanged a quick glance before the older man smiled faintly at him. "Of course. Would you like for us to lead you back to your quarters?"

Sokka felt like the question was some sort of test, but he planned on passing. "Well, the bathroom, if you don't mind. I never found it."

The man's smile went a little crooked, but he nodded and then led Sokka to the bathroom nearest his room. Sokka didn't actually have to go, but took a reasonable time in the bathroom before popping back out and allowing the men to lead him down the hall to his room.

Once inside he closed and locked the door behind him, his mind suddenly racing. If he just heard what he thought he'd heard... well, they just might have a big problem on their hands. Were the soldiers planning an attack? Could it actually be true?

He rubbed his face and collapsed onto his bed. Even if it were true, he apparently had until the speech to worry about it-he could reflect on it tomorrow, when he wasn't feeling so tired. And he could run it by the others, who should all be showing up soon.

_break_

Zuko hurried down the halls back to his room, disrobed, and crawled into bed, but he couldn't go to sleep with so much on his mind. He tossed and turned for nearly an hour, mulling over what Sokka had told him.

And the more he thought about it, the more it seemed right. At first, the thought of breaking up with Mai over this little problem seemed silly, but maybe there was a bigger issue at hand. Maybe he just wasn't attracted to Mai. If he just brought it down to a simple question of whether or not he wanted to be intimate with her, regardless of his feelings, regardless of hers, if he thought about it on a purely physical level... it was blatantly obvious that he didn't want her. The hugging, the kissing... it was sweet, endearing, but it didn't excite him and he had never wanted to go any further.

He cared for her (though whether he would go so far as to say love, he was unsure) and he didn't want to hurt her and that had blurred his thinking, but now that Sokka had suggested it, it was so obvious that he didn't want Mai.

It suddenly occurred to him that Mai had specifically warned him against trying to break up with her, but... he had to do something. Sokka was right. Trying to carry on a relationship with her just to try to appease her would only make the both of them more miserable in the end.

Zuko decided he would talk to her when she came to the palace in two days. He would try and explain himself to her and just hope she would understand.

He slept fitfully, at best, and awoke feeling less than rested, dressing lightly, and heading down for breakfast. He was surprised to see Sokka awake already. Though the other had always woken them up early when they were travelling, Zuko had learned long ago that Sokka liked nothing better than sleeping in. When they couldn't know when the others would show up, he would have thought Sokka would have cherished the extra time he had to doze.

But Sokka was eating as if he'd just been told this was the last time he would ever be allowed to eat-or he was eating as he always ate, Zuko noted fondly. He was just finishing his first plate of Komodo sausage and fresh fruit when Zuko took a seat at the head of the table.

Sokka aimed a grin at him that seemed almost apologetic, though Zuko wasn't sure why he thought that. He returned the smile regardless and broke the silence, "How did you sleep?"

"After spending the last six months between the North and South poles?" Sokka quipped, "I nearly melted. You have no idea how close you were to waking up to find a puddle of Sokka-goo all over your royal bed sheets. Other than that, not too bad."

Zuko smiled faintly; Sokka was still Sokka, sarcasm and all. "Spend a few days and you'll get used to it again. You never seemed to have trouble sleeping last year."

Before Sokka could make another comment, they were supplied with breakfast (Sokka with his second helping), and Zuko realized he was actually quite hungry. The food distracted them from conversation for a moment before Sokka asked, "So, any idea when the others are going to show?"

He shook his head. "No more than you. But they said they'd be here sometime today."

"Well, you know those guys," Sokka said, "Chances are they got themselves into some kind of trouble, and they'll all show up at the last minute."

Zuko nodded. Even with the world at peace, he somehow didn't doubt that Aang could find his way into a sticky situation. "Maybe we should start without them, then? The sooner I know what the Fire Nation needs to do, the sooner I can start doing it."

Sokka gave him a little shrug. "To be honest, there might not be much you can do for the water tribes."

"Really?" Zuko asked with a frown. He'd wanted to be able to do something.

"Yeah," Sokka told him, "The Northern Water Tribe is pretty much intact. Aang beat the troops back when the Fire Nation attacked, and the few damages there were were quickly fixed by the waterbenders. And Chief Arnook knows it was your uncle that fought back Zhao. He figures if the man who was willing to become a traitor to protect the balance of the elements supports you, he should too."

A little relieved smile crossed Zuko's face. It was nice to know that the entire world wouldn't need help recovering. And that he had some support from other parts of the world. "And the Southern Tribe?"

"Well, they're in worse shape. The soldiers have really done a number on our tribe over the years. Katara was the last bender left down there. But now that the waterways aren't being patrolled by Fire Nation ships, the north has sent down benders and healers and they're helping to rebuild the Southern Tribe and bring all the scattered villages back together."

"And there's nothing the Fire Nation can do?" Zuko asked.

"Not really. Keep the waterways clear, I guess. The tribes don't need help or supplies, since they can all bend and hunt. I think they're just happy to have the war over."

Zuko nodded and though he was happy to hear that the Water Tribes didn't need help, there was still something he wished he could do.

They finished breakfast while the talk moved to something more lighthearted; Sokka started telling Zuko about the children of the Tribes, the games he'd played, the jokes he'd told. It seemed as though Sokka's year had been filled with much more fun than Zuko's, though Zuko wasn't surprised. Sokka created fun and lightheartedness. Zuko was surprised to find himself laughing at Sokka's tales. He'd laughed so sparingly in recent times that he'd almost forgotten how good it felt.

After they finished, Zuko suggested they play a few rounds of Pai Sho to pass the time. He'd taught the younger teen the game in the last year, though he nearly regretted it. Sokka was great at it, while Zuko was only so-so. Even learning the game directly from his uncle had only helped so much, while Sokka was a great big ball of raw ingenuity. He always came up with some brilliant strategy to get around whatever Zuko had planned.

Even though the rounds of Pai Sho were lessons in humility for Zuko, he found himself enjoying every moment of it. For that morning, he wasn't Fire Lord Zuko, he wasn't the leader of a nation, he wasn't a warrior; he wasn't even a firebender. He was just Zuko, just a teenage boy playing a game with a good friend.

And it felt amazing. Zuko felt like he could breathe again.

A little bit before lunch, there was a faint, familiar thump out in the yard, and Zuko and Sokka exchanged a glance before quickly abandoning the game and hurrying around to the yard.

Outside, they found Appa, with Aang, Katara, and Toph slowly dismounting the sky bison. Sokka and Zuko ran over to the group, smiling. Seeing everyone again was so exciting. The last time Zuko had seen them had been a half a year ago, and he hadn't seen Toph in longer.

Before he knew it, Appa licked him affectionately, nearly knocking him to the ground, while Momo hopped onto Sokka's head. Greetings were exchanged, including hugs from Katara and Aang, and an affectionate punch from Toph-who was surprisingly taller, nearly Katara's height.

All of them headed back inside for a light lunch, and then they got down to business. Toph, though her parents had lessened their hold on her, was still young and hadn't gotten around very much. The most she got out was when her mother took her to Ba Sing Se. She confessed that she was going a bit stir crazy and was hoping to have an extended visit in the Fire Nation.

Aang and Katara, on the other hand, had been able to travel everywhere on Appa. They had spent a few days in each town they'd visited, mostly throughout the Earth Kingdom, though they'd stopped in with the Water Tribes and a few Fire Nation villages as well. Amazingly, many of the villages were so isolated that they hadn't even known the war was over. Ba Sing Se was being rebuilt, slowly, but there were tentative plans to make the city more accessible from the outside. Most of the demands for the area were from smaller villages, asking for food, supplies, simply requesting back whatever the Fire Nation had taken. The Earth Nation was a proud people, and Zuko had expected no more than that-he'd already been creating ways to get food into the villages that he been directly occupied by soldiers.

But his speech was about how the other Nations felt about them, not just about what they could do, and it seemed like it may be a little more optimistic than he had hoped.

After the business was taken care of, Zuko went to write a quick letter to his uncle, who was waiting for him at the capital.

_break_

While he was gone, Sokka quickly got down to business. He leaned in to explain, "Guys, I think something bad is gonna happen."

Katara raised an eyebrow at him, grinned. "You always think something bad is gonna happen."

"And I'm usually right," Sokka told her grimly. "Look, last night I uh..." he almost told them that he went to try to talk to Zuko, but then realized that would require more explaining than he wanted to go through with and instead stuck with the bathroom lie. "I got lost looking for the bathroom and I heard these soldiers in the hall."

"What'd they say?" Aang asked with interest.

"The one said something like 'out of the way' and then the other one mentioned the speech and told the first guy to be patient and said something about not talking about it in the hallways."

Katara and Aang stared at him, as if waiting for something more, though it was Toph that actually spoke up, "That's it?"

"Yeah," Sokka replied, almost sheepishly. But he quickly remembered the very distinct feeling he'd had in his gut the night before, and tried to defend himself, "It might not sound like much, but what if it means something? 'Out of the way' sounds suspiciously like 'get Zuko out of the way,' don't you think?"

His sister rolled her eyes. "It could mean anything, Sokka. They're probably just talking about the speech. Zuko's asked village leaders from all over the Fire Nation, and people from the other nations to come to the capital, so it's gotten pretty busy. The soldiers have all been working overtime to keep the peace. But once the speech is over, everyone goes home."

Though the argument seemed reasonable, Sokka wouldn't be persuaded. "But why not talk about it in the halls?"

"Not everyone can put up with complaining the way we can, Sokka," Toph jested.

"But what if it means something? What if they're plotting to attack Zuko?" Sokka insisted.

Katara sighed at him. "You worry too much."

"Yeah, Sokka," Aang confirmed. "Zuko replaced all the soldiers who were loyal to Ozai as soon as he came into power and Iroh helped to handpick the soldiers in the Royal Guard. If any of them were planning on hurting Zuko, don't you think Iroh would have noticed something?"

Sokka frowned. Aang's reasoning was the most persuasive of all, but... he still felt like something was wrong. He wasn't going to let himself be convinced unless he investigated further. He sighed and admitted, "Maybe. But maybe not. Would it really hurt to look into it? To do some investigating tonight?"

"You do whatever you want, Sokka," Katara told him, "but I plan on getting a good night's sleep."

Aang gave him a little helpless shrug, silently agreeing with Katara.

Toph was the only one who didn't voice an opinion, but before Sokka could prod her into joining him, Zuko returned.

Sokka half-wished he could ask Zuko to accompany him. The last infiltration mission they'd teamed up on had gone fairly well, after all. But Sokka didn't want to freak Zuko out, not until he knew something for sure. The gang was right, he didn't have very much evidence, and there was no point in stressing Zuko over something he may very well have construed in his own mind.

Soon after, Katara and Aang convinced them all to go to the nearby village to explore the shops (they'd seen it while they were flying to the palace), and after Zuko dressed down to disguise himself, they were off. Over the next few hours, they popped in and out of the local shops, getting to see everywhere but a weapon shop on the far side of town. As dusk approached, Katara and Aang snuck off to watch the sun setting over the ocean from the cliff on the edge of the town.

After they got back, they sat down to a feast of a dinner with steamed fish, mountains of rice, stir-fried vegetables, and fresh fruit from town. Sokka ate three plates full and Katara pondered aloud how he avoided weighing five hundred pounds. Over dinner, they began sharing stories about people they'd met and the places they'd been. A year was a long time and they all seemed to have a great deal to share.

It was late by the time they'd headed off to bed, but Sokka, reminded of his task, was awake and alert. He waited until he thought everyone else would have headed to bed before leaving his room and venturing through the castle.

Earlier, he'd managed to casually slip into conversation a question about the colonel the soldiers had mentioned last night. It was a man named Masa, who'd only recently made the rank of Colonel, what with all the recent promotions that had occurred. He was currently in charge of the palace's perimeter, though he wasn't connected to Zuko's Royal Guard. The room operating as his quarters and office was located on the edge of the palace and Sokka had made sure that he wouldn't get lost this time.

He used every bit of stealth he possessed to make his way through the palace silently. Alert for distant voices that would signal the approach of soldiers, he headed toward the front of the building.

Then, he saw soldiers disappearing around a corner, and he hurried to catch up with them. Just in time, he saw them disappearing into the door he knew to be the colonel's room. He gazed around before sneaking up to the door, pressing his ear to it… but the voices on the other side were muffled. He couldn't hear much through the thick door, only that there were voices, and that they were talking heatedly inside. He picked up the occasional curse, but other than that, it was useless.

He frowned to himself, prepared to head back to his room. Maybe he could recruit Toph to help him the next night. Surely, she'd be able to hear through the door-or she could earthbend a gap in the stone wall, so they could hear and see what was going on.

No sooner had he pulled away from the door, he practically ran into a soldier. It wasn't one of the soldiers from the previous night, but the older male was eyeing him suspiciously. "Master Sokka, what are you doing here?"

Sokka grinned innocently at the soldier, spouting the lie he'd prepared. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd take a walk around the castle."

The soldier continued to look at him, examining him, but seemed to finally let it go. "Of course. I hope you can get to sleep soon then."

He then headed into the colonel's room, and Sokka hurried back to his room as quickly as he could, bolting the door behind him. The last thing he needed was to be kidnapped in the middle up the night by soldiers because he'd been snooping around. He fell asleep almost immediately and slept well into the morning.

_break_

Zuko slept poorly again that night with the knowledge that Mai would be showing up the next day. He knew he would need to talk to her and he could only hope that she would understand.

That morning, everyone but Sokka was at breakfast, and Zuko could barely touch the food on his plate, knowing Mai would be there any moment.

Soon after the breakfast plates had been cleared from the table, Mai walked in the door. Zuko stood to greet her with a tentative hug, and as soon as everyone else had said their greetings, Zuko whispered to her, "I need to talk to you about something."

She frowned at him, but nodded and together the two of them headed to Zuko's study.

Once there, Zuko wasn't sure how to begin. He didn't know how to even start this conversation.

But Mai apparently didn't feel like waiting. "What is it, Zuko?"

"Well, uh..." Zuko stuttered, "It's..."

"Oh, just spit it out," Mai said exasperatedly.

Zuko let out a breath, reminding himself that this was better for the both of them. Thinking that somehow gave him the strength he needed to continue. "Mai, I... I don't think I'm attracted to you."

Her frown deepened, but before she could say anything, Zuko rushed to explain himself, "It's not that you're not pretty-you really are! And I really do care about you... It's just... me. I just don't want to... be with you. And if I don't want you, I don't think it's fair to you to stay with you."

Mai stepped towards him, eyeing him warily, and before Zuko knew quite what she was going to do, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed her back, tentatively, his arms moving naturally behind her back, but he wasn't sure what she was doing, and the kiss did no more for him than it ever had.

After a moment, she pulled back, scrutinizing him, "Nothing?"

Zuko frowned and dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry."

Instead of blowing up at him, or getting angry... Mai just sighed and said, "Ty Lee told me this was going to happen."

Zuko was taken aback. "Ty... Lee?"

"Yeah," Mai explained with a half-hearted smile on her face, "she told me months ago that you didn't seem interested in me. I didn't want to believe it but... She was right, you know? You never did want to do anything more than kiss."

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"No, it's fine. You can't help it, right? If you could like me, you would," Mai said a bit helplessly.

Zuko nodded his agreement. "I definitely would."

"We've been drifting apart for months, you know. Was it because of this? Because you're not attracted to me?" Mai asked curiously.

"Yeah, I think so," Zuko admitted softly. He hadn't even thought about it, but now that Mai had mentioned it, they really had grown distant. Even though Zuko had been back to the palace every few days, he'd felt further and further from Mai. Perhaps he'd been distancing himself, without even realizing it. But he did care about her, and now that he didn't have to worry about unwanted advances, maybe they could at least talk again.

She gave him a little smile, and though Zuko could see a touch of sadness in it, he could see that she wasn't angry. She offered, "Are we still friends?"

"Yes," Zuko replied quickly. A wave of relief washed over him. He'd imagined a million scenarios, but none of them had ended on such a positive note. "So, you're okay with this?"

"I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little upset," she said. "But I saw it coming. I prepared myself for it. I actually asked you to go further as a test."

Zuko's eyes widened. "You did?"

"Yeah. Well, it was Ty Lee's idea, actually. When I told her what was happening, she thought it was because you didn't want me. She told me to offer it and said it would either make us or break us. I suppose it was the latter," she concluded with a little shrug.

Smart girl, that Ty Lee. Zuko had always thought that she was brighter than she acted.

After that, they shared an only semi-awkward embrace that made relief wash over him. Though Zuko knew Mai would be the last to throw a temper tantrum, or have some other extreme emotional outburst, he hadn't wanted to hurt her. Avoiding doing that had seemed impossible, but now that it was over... Zuko felt amazing. He felt free.

They left the room together to rejoin the others and for the rest of the morning, they spent time catching up with Mai and sharing more of what happened over the year. Sokka joined them just in time for lunch, adding to the group's liveliness.

And with the weight of what had just happened lifted from his shoulders, Zuko thought he may have never felt better.


	2. Chapter 2

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Sokka/Zuko). POV goes Sokka, Zuko, Sokka.

* * *

><p>After lunch, while Katara and Zuko had been encouraged into a friendly duel in the yard, Sokka snuck Toph away from the group and into the gardens on the other side of the building. He tried to play it off as something casual, but Toph was nothing if not quick, and not a minute into the stroll, she said, "Sokka, if you need my help investigating, just ask."<p>

Sokka turned a grin on her, before realizing, yet again, that she couldn't see it. "Would you? I found the place last night, but I couldn't hear a word of it through the door. I mean, the speech is tomorrow. What if they're really planning something? What if Zuko's in danger?"

Toph let out a heavy breath. "Fine, fine, I'll go. But I swear if this is turns out to be some crazy pessimistic-Sokka thing, I'm going to beat you."

"Hey, I like sleep as much as the next person," Sokka said defensively, "But I happen to think our buddy's life is a little more important than a few extra hours of snoozing. Besides," Sokka continued, trying to butter up the girl, in hopes of her forgetting her threat of violence, "we both know you're the only one who'd be any use anyway. I don't think Aang gets the idea of spying, and what's Katara gonna do, WATERbend her way into the conversation? I don't think so."

Toph's grin said that she knew Sokka's intentions. But she was still grinning. "You've convinced me. I'm just saying, we better find ourselves something interesting. I could use a little action," she pounded her hand into her fist, "you know?"

The way she was grinning at him then was almost a little scary, and Sokka laughed sheepishly, very glad that she was on his side.

By the time they headed back to the yard, Zuko was soaking wet and one of Katara's sleeves was singed, but both teens were smiling hard, and Mai and Aang were watching intently. Toph and Sokka sat down in time to enjoy the final few minutes of the duel until it ended in an obvious draw. After realizing the double loss, they drew back and laughed.

Sokka couldn't help but smile to himself. The war had trained all of them for combat and they had taken the training to heart, they had become masters at what they needed to do. Now that the war was over, they all had this set of skills that could no longer be used. Both Zuko and Katara were great benders (not to mention Aang and Toph, as well), and Sokka had enjoyed creating war strategies, he'd liked overpowering enemy warriors with his sword.

But they could all only hope never to have to use their abilities again. They could only hope that their lives, and the lives of the ones they loved, would never have to be laid down in war.

Because of that, Sokka couldn't give up until he was sure that Zuko really was safe.

_break_

Sometime later, Katara and Aang headed off towards the gardens, while Mai offered to teach Toph how to play Pai Sho (Toph somewhat reluctantly agreed, not sounding eager at the idea of learning a silly game). It left Sokka and Zuko a bit out of the loop-until Zuko casually suggested they head back to town to browse the weapons shop they'd missed the day before. Zuko remembered that Sokka had mentioned wanting to go in, but the others hadn't been as enthusiastic. Now seemed the perfect time to make up for the lost opportunity.

As soon as he suggested it, Sokka'a face lit up and he eagerly agreed.

The journey was at first quiet, Zuko unsure of what he should say, until Sokka cleared his throat roughly. He started, "I'm sorry about the other night, telling you to break up with Mai."

"No, no," Zuko quickly said. He looked to Sokka, who looked apologetic, though Zuko couldn't understand why. He wasn't anything but thankful for what Sokka had told him. "You were just being upfront with me. I thought about it and you were right. I talked to Mai earlier and we broke it off."

Sokka raised an eyebrow with him. "Really? You two seemed okay earlier though."

Zuko gave him a half-hearted smile, a little shrug. "Yeah. She said she'd been expecting something like that to happen, so she didn't freak out or anything."

"I don't think I can imagine Mai freaking out, anyway," Sokka replied with a grin.

"Yeah," Zuko agreed, his smile growing a bit more authentic, "I can't either."

After that, the conversation was light again, and they talked and laughed as they entered town and headed for the weapons shop.

Inside was a collection of weapons covering all four walls of the room. Most were made of folded steel, long, shiny blades, polearms, a smaller collection of bow and arrows. Sokka hopped eagerly from one side of the shop to the other, picking up weapons and putting them down, testing the balance of the blades, swinging a few with more skill than Zuko remembered Sokka having.

Zuko found he was actually enjoying watching Sokka more than he enjoyed the weapons themselves.

Eventually the shop owner made an appearance, greeting the two of them, and then Sokka immediately struck up a conversation with the owner about various weapons in the shop, asking how he had made them. In passing, the owner mentioned that business had really dropped off since the end of the war (and at that, Zuko tensed, fearing the worst reaction), but that he didn't mind if the cost of peace was finding a new trade.

And then Sokka saw it-a boomerang. Zuko remembered that the teen's boomerang had been dropped off of a Fire Nation airship somewhere high above the Earth Kingdom on the day Sozin's Comet returned. He'd never found it and he'd mourned its loss for weeks.

The water tribesman's eyes lit up. He took the weapon into his hands with a look of awe of his face, admiring it from every angle.

"Oh, you like that?" the owner quipped with a chuckle. "I made that a few months ago, after we had a few people from the water tribe come through. It's interesting, huh? It's supposed to hit something and then come back to the owner, believe it or not."

"Yeah," Sokka replied absently, still holding the boomerang. From what Zuko could tell, it looked similar to Sokka's old boomerang, though it wasn't the same one.

"You want it?" the owner asked casually. It was the first time he had even suggested they buy something, Zuko realized-the man seemed grateful just to have visitors. "I'll sell it to you cheap."

But at that, the grin on Sokka's face slowly faded until it was distinctly a frown. His shoulders slumped and he shook his head a bit. "I'm sorry. I wish I could, but I..."

"I'll get it," Zuko suddenly blurted. The other two looked at him, probably surprised to hear him say something, but Zuko had to admit he was equally surprised. He hadn't realized he was going to make the offer until the words had already left his lips. Zuko pulled out the pouch of gold he'd kept tucked under his robes.

Sokka was still staring at him, looking a bit put out. "I didn't know you liked boomerangs."

Zuko's eyes went wide at Sokka's misunderstanding and he corrected himself quickly, "No, I mean. For you. I'll get it for you."

The other teen continued to stare at him, but he put his hands up in protest and urged, "You don't have to do that."

"But I want to," Zuko insisted. "As... as a thank you. Let me."

Sokka was still eyeing him skeptically, but he didn't seem to want to argue and finally he cracked a smile. "Fine, fine."

Sokka allowed him to slip a healthy amount of gold to the shop owner (most certainly more than the owner would have asked for, as the man's eyes widened dramatically) and they were out the door before he asked, "What exactly are you thanking me for?"

Zuko shrugged. He wasn't quite sure that was why he bought Sokka the boomerang at all, but it had certainly sounded like a good excuse. "For the advice the other day," Zuko forced out, "for all the help you've given me over the past year. For everything, I guess."

Though Sokka seemed to accept the answer, he laughed, "If that's the case, you're gonna need to fork out millions to thank Aang."

He replied with a light chuckle, and they began to stroll through town, Sokka swinging his new boomerang around, more like a club than anything. Zuko felt... happy to see him enjoying it though.

Eventually, after tiring himself out swinging around the weapon, Sokka struck up conversation again. "So how's life as Fire Lord?"

"Probably not as glamorous as you'd expect," Zuko replied with a shrug.

"Glamorous enough to buy your friends expensive gifts," Sokka joked.

Zuko gave him a sidelong glance. "That's about the extent of it, I promise. That's probably the most indulgent thing I've done this whole year."

"What seems to be the problem?" Sokka asked, his voice sobering.

"There are more people than I expected that are opposed to ending the war," Zuko explained. "It's been an uphill battle."

Sokka offered optimistically, "But you've had help."

"Of course. My uncle has been guiding me through it all." Zuko let out a sheepish laugh as he admitted, "I actually haven't made a single move without running it by him first. I don't want to make a mistake, you know?"

"Oh, don't tell me the great Fire Lord is afraid," Sokka said jovially, clapping him on the shoulder.

Somehow, their walking had inadvertently found their way to the edge of town, the cliff that overlooked the ocean, where the sun was touching down against the horizon and tainting the sky a mellow orange. They paused.

Zuko looked at Sokka, then away, out over the ocean. Sokka's vehement attempts to keep the mood light were doing nothing for Zuko. He'd kept his fear to himself for much too long. After a moment, he admitted softly, "Actually, yeah. I'm terrified."

Sokka's good humor finally seemed knocked out of him, and he was quiet.

"I have the fate of the entire nation-no, the entire world resting in my hands," Zuko started, the confession leaking out of him slowly. He hadn't told anyone of his fears. Mai and Iroh had known he was struggling, but he hadn't told them this. He hadn't been able to let them know he was actually frightened. "The Fire Nation's nearly taken over the entire planet before. If something were to happen to me, if I do something wrong... I mean, I've done what I've can to pull troops out of the other Nations, I've decommissioned military factories, I've removed the men in the military who would only follow my father... But I could only do so much.

"The Fire Nation has had an entire century to become what it is. How could I hope to undo all that in a year? If something happened to me, it would be too easy for the factories to start up again, for the soldiers to be moved back into the other Nations. The war could start up again as easily as I ended it."

Once he got going, Zuko found he couldn't stop-Sokka certainly wasn't stopping him. "It's all too much. One wrong move and the entire world could be at war again. And then even if I could somehow stop it again, no one would trust the Fire Nation. Millions of lives hang in the balance of the decisions I make, and I can't even figure out my personal life on my own. How am I supposed to decide what's right for the entire nation? For the world?"

Sokka was silent for a long moment, his hand gentle on Zuko's shoulder, as if making sure Zuko had tuckered out before interrupting. Finally, he told the older teen calmly, "No one's expecting you to be perfect, Zuko. That goes for everyone here, and in the other nations. If you make a few mistakes, the whole world isn't going to unravel. People in the other Nations? They're just glad that you aren't charging at them with tanks anymore. They're glad that you're not stealing their money and occupying their villages. Anything less than that, I'm sure they'll forgive you.

"And no one said you need to do anything alone. That's what we're all here for. Your uncle, Katara, Toph, Aang-you have the AVATAR on your side, the bridge between the spirit world and ours! If that's not support, I don't know what is." Sokka's hand tightened on his shoulder before releasing it. "We're all here to help you, Zuko."

"Yeah," Zuko confirmed softly, then again, more resolutely, "yeah. I know. It's just easy to forget, with everyone all over the world. It gets lonely."

Again, Sokka was quiet for a time, and Zuko couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. Having just spewed his fears out like that made him feel vulnerable, but he wouldn't have done it if he couldn't trust Sokka to handle that.

Finally, miraculously, Sokka said, "You know, if you want, I could stick around for a while."

Zuko turned to look at the other teen and he was grinning softly. "What? But... what about the water tribes?"

Sokka gave a little shrug as his gaze turned towards the sun setting on the horizon. "My dad's back, so he's been running everything. The benders are the ones doing all the rebuilding and everyone else can hunt. They don't really need me."

"I..." Zuko started, but he wasn't sure what he was going to say. He felt grateful, relieved. Traveling so much, he hadn't even had his uncle by his side. He'd felt so alone, he'd terribly missed the days before the end of the war when he'd gotten to spend time with everyone. The fact that Sokka would be willing to stay with him in the Fire Nation, even if only for a short time, was such happy knowledge. "Sokka, would you really stay?"

The taller teen looked back to him, grinning more widely, "Yeah, if you want me to. It'd be nice to feel useful again."

Zuko felt his mood soaring and he decided it was time to let the mood stay lightened. He attempted a joke. "You're not just saying that because I bought you a boomerang, are you?"

Sokka let out a laugh and Zuko felt good to have caused it.

"I'm not," he said, his hand falling back onto Zuko's shoulder. "I promise."

_break_

Sokka hadn't been lying. The boomerang had nothing to do with his offer to stay. If Zuko hadn't bought him the boomerang, Sokka would have made the same offer. Honestly, he was just tired of feeling useless, he was tired of feeling unneeded. He was tired of being so far from all of his friends.

He was tired of not being near Zuko.

They soon found their way away from the setting sun and back to the palace, where they were greeted by another dinner-and Sokka got to show off his new boomerang. After several more hours of tales and jokes and general mirth, they all headed to bed.

Except for Sokka. Again.

He instead sat awake for an hour, and then headed to Toph's room down the hall, where the girl had been waiting for him. Together, they snuck towards the colonel's quarters. It turned out that Toph was even better at stealth than Sokka had expected. Seeing with her feet allowed Toph to see around corners and down long, dark hallways. It was like having a guard posted at every corner all around them. Sokka took note, in case he ever thought the skill would come in handy again.

After just a few minutes of sneaking around, they made it to the hallway that ran alongside the room-Toph said she'd actually come along earlier and made a small hole in the rocky wall (because earthbending was nothing if not loud), and so they crept to that and put their ears near it to hear inside.

"...just poison him."

Just those first words made Sokka's eyes widen. He KNEW it.

The man was chastised by a bold voice, one Sokka took to be Colonel Masa. "That would be idiotic. If Zuko dies by some mysterious means, the traitor Iroh takes the throne. Even if we could get to the Fire Lord to poison him, it would be pointless. It has to be public. It has to be tomorrow."

Sokka's heart was suddenly racing. He was right, he was so right. Zuko was in danger. His attention stayed focused on the dialogue inside the room, straining to hear every word of it.

Masa continued, "Tomorrow, while the boy delivers his speech, while men and women from all across the Fire Nation and all over the world are watching, we strike. We kill him, and then we kill his fool of an uncle, and we claim the throne for ourselves."

"And the Avatar?" the first man asked, "He'll be there. He'll try to stop us."

"The Avatar doesn't suspect a thing! None of them do. We'll take both of them out at once. That'll give us years to reclaim the world while the new Avatar is just a baby. The Water Tribe is next in the Avatar cycle. Perhaps we'll just kill any baby born in the tribe after we kill this one."

"Sokka," Toph whispered urgently, "We need to get to Zuko. Now."

"Come on," Sokka told her-but just as he hurried to the end of the hallway, he ran smack dab into one of the members of Zuko's Royal Guard.

"Master Sokka," the man exclaimed, "What's going on?"

Sokka was skeptical, but he hadn't seen any of the Royal Guard associating with the other soldiers. He stated simply, "We need to get to Zuko. We have an urgent message for him."

"What about? I'm sure the Lord's sleeping, perhaps it could wait until morning?"

"No," Sokka told him quickly, "we have to get to him now. Colonel Masa, he's-"

But at just the mentioned name, the guardsman's eyes widened. "Is Colonel Masa planning an attack?"

"You knew about it?" Sokka demanded.

"There were rumors, but we never suspected them to be true. We never thought Masa would have the audacity to..." the guardsman trailed off, looking distressed. "Yes, come on, I'll lead you there."

Just as Sokka moved to follow the man, Toph said suddenly, "Wait, Sokka, he's lying!"

Then the man grinned devilishly, and before he and Toph could react, they were ambushed; four other soldiers appeared out of nowhere. One of them quickly bashed Toph over the back of her head, knocking her unconscious. The other soldiers grabbed Sokka by either arm and though he struggled, he was unable to break free of the grasp.

"Seems the girl caught me," the man said nonchalantly, then looked at Sokka, "and you know too much."

To the men, he ordered, "Let's take him into the colonel."

The men dragged Sokka (and the unconscious Toph) around the corner and into the colonel's room, Sokka struggling all the way, until his arm was wrenched particularly hard. Once before the colonel, the guardsman announced, "Colonel Masa, look who I found snooping in the hallway."

Masa sat in an elaborate chair on the other side of the room and gazed at his captives with a smoldering look in his eyes, while the other man, some other soldier, just looked surprised. Finally, Masa chuckled. "It seems as though I was wrong about the others not suspecting us. You were listening, I take it? How much do you know?"

There was no sense in denying it. Sokka knew he wouldn't be released. He grimaced at the man. "Enough to know that you're a traitor."

An enraged look flew onto Masa's face and he jumped out of his chair. "I'm NO traitor. It is Zuko that is the traitor against the Fire Nation. Your precious Fire Lord doesn't believe in the greatness of our nation and for that he deserves everything that happens to him tomorrow."

"We won't let you hurt him," Sokka spit at him.

The colonel chuckled and continued arrogantly, "And just how do you presume to stop me, boy?"

Though wild plans of escaping and getting to Zuko ran through his head, he didn't have a clear idea. At the moment, he didn't know how he was going to stop Masa, only that he would. That he had to. A hateful look settled over his face.

When Masa realized that Sokka had no answer, he laughed outright. "As I thought."

Just as Sokka felt as though he was about to be dismissed, he jumped at an opportunity to learn as much as he could and said quickly, "How do you plan to do it?"

Masa sat back down and scanned Sokka for another moment before he gave him a smirk. "Fine, I'll play your game. It's not as if you'll be able to stop me, hmm?"

He seemed to take a moment to revel in the idea before continuing. "Tomorrow, during Zuko's little speech, the Yu Yan Archers will be posted on the far side of the Coronation Temple and they shall execute him for every representative from all across the world to see, and I shall declare myself the new Fire Lord."

"And you expect everyone to simply fall in line behind you?" Sokka asked.

"Anyone who protests will be struck down on the spot by my archers," Masa told him with a grin.

He raised an eyebrow at the older man. "_Your_archers?"

"Yes," Masa said with seething, "mine. My uncle, ex-general Shinu, passed them onto me after the _great_Fire Lord dumped him from the military."

Sokka suddenly got the feeling that this wasn't just about Masa thinking Zuko was a traitor. The tone of his voice implied that there was a much more personal reason for his hatred of the young Fire Lord-but Sokka was trying to find out as much as he could. He'd have time to reflect on it later. "If the archers fail?"

"They don't fail," Masa assured him. "But even if they do, the temple will be full of soldiers and firebenders whose loyalties lie with me. The traitor will not escape."

"And Iroh?" Sokka asked.

"Already my prisoner. He will be executed soon after Zuko, as a traitor, of course."

Sokka somehow didn't think Iroh could be taken down so easily. He didn't think an entire trained battalion of firebenders could defeat Iroh, much less a few scattered soldiers and firebenders. He could sense his time was running out, so he threw in the last question that came to mind, "And what about us? Are you going to kill us?"

Masa laughed. "Kill you? Why would I need to do that? We'll just wait until I'm Fire Lord, and then I'll have you publicly beheaded for high crimes against the Fire Nation. It'll be far more satisfying that way." He looked towards the guards. "Alright, enough. Take them to the keep. And remember, the girl can bend metal, so use rope."

And then Sokka felt something hard impact the back of his head and his vision went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Sokka/Zuko). POV is Zuko, Sokka, Zuko...

* * *

><p>Zuko fell asleep with the next day's speech on his mind and so slept poorly. Though public speaking was usually the least of his fears, having the next morning loom over him was disrupting. He simply wanted to get the morning over with. After this, maybe he could take a small vacation to Ember Island, just a few days. He and the others could have one last round of excitement together before they would all have to leave.<p>

Except for Sokka, who would be staying with him. Thinking that was what finally allowed him to get to sleep at all.

He woke up the next morning less than refreshed. Three nights of restless sleep were surely going to start taking a toll on him.

When he came down for breakfast, he found Aang, Katara, and Mai waiting for him. A few minutes into the meal, a soldier came in to inform him that General Iroh had shown up earlier and offered to take Sokka and Toph (both already awake) into the capital ahead of the rest of them to check on the security and explore the area, claiming it would be more interesting than waiting for Zuko to awake and get ready.

Zuko felt a bit disappointed that he wouldn't see Sokka, who was all too likely to lighten his mood, and so he didn't think much of the look that Aang and Katara shared at the information.

Soon after, the four of them piled into the carriage that would lead them into the capital.

_break_

Sokka started to come around to the sound of voices on the other side of a door and it took him a moment to remember where he was and what had happened. As Masa's assassination attempt rushed back to him, he became very alert-and very aware of the back of his head throbbing from the blow that had knocked him out.

He quickly tried to examine the area around him-they were in a wooden shack of some sort, completely surrounded by it and the bonds tying his arms tight behind him were made of rope. Toph wouldn't be able to bend them out of this-and of course, Sokka's weapons, including his new boomerang, were gone.

On top of that, he and Toph seemed tied back to back, connected to a tall pole in the middle of the room. Not that it mattered. The rest of the room was empty.

There were no windows, so Sokka couldn't tell what time of day or night it may be. He could only hope that he wasn't too late.

With no other option, Sokka began to struggle against the bonds-the rope was tied tightly, joining his forearms behind him, his shoulders pulled back uncomfortably. But he'd gotten out of worse than this. He'd escaped from situations like this before, he could do it again.

He began twisting his arms against each other, sliding his arms as much as he could. There wasn't much slack and instead of release him, the rope just seemed to dig into his skin.

But he kept fighting, and kept fighting, and soon he felt the ropes starting to release him, soon his struggling began to pay off. When he finally pried off the ropes connecting his forearms, he realized it was another rope that connected his wrist to the pole. Instead of focus on that, though, he turned around.

"Toph," he whispered sharply into the dark room, his hand going for her shoulder. He could see that her bonds were similar to his and he started trying to loosen them for her. When she didn't waken, he tried again, "Toph, wake up."

It was his tugging harder at her bonds that actually roused her.

She groaned, "What happened?"

"We were caught, remember? They knocked you out, probably so you couldn't earthbend."

"Ugh, that's why it feels like I got hit by a stampeding elephant mandrill."

Sokka couldn't help but crack a tiny smile, glad that if had to be captured with someone, it was at least someone who knew how to lighten the mood in even the tensest of situations. He could use some mood-lightening. His heart was pounding as it was.

As he fought to untie her (it was easier with both hands, but was still a fight), he quickly filled her in about the colonel's plan, and she immediately agreed that they needed to get to Zuko as quickly as possible. After one of her arms was free she summoned a thin, sharp rock up through the cracks in the floor boards that allowed them to saw through the remaining ropes.

Just as they were on their feet, wondering just how they would get through the door, there were sounds of a struggle from outside, the 'oomphs' of soldiers falling to the ground and the familiar crackle of firebending.

Sokka pulled Toph back from the door as it burst open-Sokka was relieved to see Iroh standing in the doorway.

The man looked at both them, though he didn't seem surprised, before saying, "Come on, we need to get to the Capital. Zuko has already left."

Iroh tossed Sokka one of the swords he was carrying and he caught it with surprise; he quickly tied it to his belt. When Iroh moved from the doorframe, Sokka quickly followed after him. "How will we get there in time?"

"There are two mongoose dragons outside. We can get to the city in less than an hour. It should give us time to get to him."

As they moved through the halls, Sokka couldn't help but notice the scorch marks littering the walls and the collapsed bodies of unconscious soldier on the floor. The more he counted, the more stunned he felt. "Were all these soldiers part of the colonel's coup?"

"I stopped anyone who tried to get in my way. I wasn't willing to take any chances," Iroh told him seriously, but then added, as if to comfort Sokka. "None of them are seriously injured. They'll all recover in a few hours."

Though Sokka didn't know if the comfort was necessary. If he had the power Iroh had, he couldn't think he would have done anything less.

As they twisted and turned through the halls, they caught up with each other, Sokka telling Iroh of Colonel Masa's plan, and Iroh explaining that the soldiers had tried to capture him as he was on his way towards the vacation palace to meet Zuko. He'd nearly been here when they jumped him, and during his detainment he'd overheard that there were two more captives at the palace. Iroh had known that he would need to rescue them before he had a chance of saving Zuko.

Finally, they made it outside and climbed on the mongoose dragons, deciding Toph would be better off riding with Iroh because the man actually knew how to ride one. Sokka mounted the second one, and they were off.

As Sokka became use to the unnaturally fast, back and forth pace of the creatures, his thoughts wandered. After a moment, he realized that the skin on his forearms was red and raw from his struggle against the ropes, but too much adrenaline was pumping through his veins for him to feel it yet.

They rode quickly, but every second that went by made Sokka's panic build further and further. Every second that passed brought Zuko all that much closer to danger, to an arrow aimed directly at him. They couldn't possibly have much time and failure was too great a loss to face.

Soon, they were climbing up the volcano towards Caldera City (Sokka nearly falling off his mongoose dragon because of the steep angle), then they were hurrying through the city, approaching the walls of the large Coronation Temple, where most of the citizens attending the speech had already gathered. Before in the line of sight of the soldiers, they abandoned their mounts-but instead of head directly towards the temple, Iroh led them towards an alley in the opposite direction.

Sokka followed, confused, but quickly asked, "Where are we going?"

"To the underground passages. There is one that leads directly into the temple."

At the end of the alley was a locked gate with a small keyhole-but instead of a key, Iroh flicked a tiny fireball into the notch and the door sprung open. They hurried inside, descending a dark staircase lit only by the flickering flame Iroh held in hand, and hurried along the passages.

"No matter what, you must protect my nephew," Iroh told him urgently as they ran, "the future of the Fire Nation, and perhaps even the world, depends on it. Bring him back to the passages, to the bunkers. Only the Royal Family knows how to navigate them, so the soldiers will not be able to find you. Zuko will know where he is supposed to go."

Sokka nodded sharply, and they suddenly came to a halt behind a door-but before he could move forward, Iroh stopped him with a final urgent message.

"Zuko will not want to leave. He will want to stay and fight. But you MUST make him. He must be kept safe."

He nodded again, firmly. "I understand."

Iroh gave him a grim smile meant as a show of gratitude.

And then they burst through the door.

In the room were six soldiers who immediately turned on them, swords drawn, but they were nothing less than battle ready.

Toph gave a little laugh. "Bring it on."

The soldiers charged, but their trio knocked them back one by one-more soldiers were attracted by the ruckus.

"Sokka," Iroh yelled to him as he knocked back a guard who had rushed at him, "get to Zuko. We'll take care of the soldiers."

Sokka hesitated for less than a second before he knocked back the soldier he'd locked swords with and he hurried up the stairs, up to the balcony Zuko would be speaking from.

He didn't have a second to waste.

_break_

Zuko inhaled deeply to fight back the nervousness as he fidgeted with the royal robes. He hadn't actually been in full dress since his coronation, and he remembered why-the robes and the armor were heavy and uncomfortable.

He imagined Sokka joking that that was probably why Ozai had been so grumpy all the time and it made him feel a little better.

The others had already gone down to the plaza to wait for him to start, though he was surprised that he hadn't seen his uncle, Sokka, or Toph since his arrival in town. A soldier had told him that they had checked in earlier that morning and that they were currently among the others in the plaza, but Zuko wished they'd stopped in to see him first. He was certain it would have eased his nerves.

Finally, one of the sages entered his chamber. "It is time, My Lord."

Zuko nodded, readied himself (as much as he could), and followed the sage out to the balcony.

Below him in the plaza was a diverse representation of the Nations. Though some of the Fire Nation village leaders had grouped together, the rest of the crowd seemed a blur of color. Blue and green and red all mingled together-the sight of it warmed Zuko. It reminded him of how far they had already come, and he finally felt the confidence he needed to continue.

As those in the crowd saw him, the hum of their chatter died down and the sea of faces turned to look up to him.

He took one last deep breath and began. "Men and women of the Fire Nation, honored guests from the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes. I thank you all for joining us here today.

"I wanted us to gather here today in order to tell the members of the Fire Nation what we needed to do in order to repair the damage we've done to the rest of the world. I wanted the other Nations to know that we are willing to go whatever distance we must to correct the balance between the Nations. We were all meant to live in harmony and the war waged by my Fathers and the absence of the Avatar lead to an imbalance between us that must be corrected."

Zuko felt himself smiling as the faces below him were filled with hope, and the members of his audience agreed with him. Before he knew quite what he was doing, he was branching off from the speech he had planned, from the points he had decided to cover. Speaking freely, from his heart, felt natural. "I know there is still work to be done, but as I look on you all today, I have to tell you that I believe we are already winning this war against hatred. Already, it seems our hearts are mending and are open to accept one another as individuals, regardless of the colors we wear. As I look on you all today, I hope to speak to you not only as citizens of the different nations, but as citizens of an entire, united world. I believe that it is only together that we can reach our full potential, and it is together that we will do this."

He paused another moment to take in the crowd's reaction. The group of red in the corner that had remained segregated from the others didn't seem approving, but the majority of the crowd, those from the other nations and his own... they were nodding their agreement, smiling, and it encouraged him to continue. He reminded himself of the speech he planned.

"I have sent allies to the other nations to find out their requests and needs and-"

But suddenly Zuko found himself tackled, knocked roughly to the floor. He was stunned for a second by the impact, but was quickly brought around by the rising noise of the plaza below, shocked murmurs growing quickly into shouts and screams as an air of chaos descended on the Temple.

Senses coming back to him, Zuko looked to see whose arms were still wrapped around him and was shocked to see Sokka.

Before he could really absorb what was happening, Sokka's hand was on the back of his neck, forced him to stay low to the ground and having him crawl back inside the Temple, behind the wall, as if for cover.

Sokka sat up against it, and Zuko saw why. There was an arrow in his arm.

Quickly, gasping, Zuko asked, "Sokka, what's going on?"

There was a pained looked on the younger teen's face. He ripped a strip of cloth from the bottom of his shirt. "They're trying to kill you."

"Who?" Zuko demanded.

But before Sokka replied, he braced himself, wrapped his arm around the shaft, and yanked the arrow out of his arm, threw it to the ground. Through his clenched jaw and pursed lips, it was obvious he had held back a noise of pain. "Masa," he gasped out. "Colonal Masa and a whole bunch of soldiers. It was a coup. They're planning to kill you and take the throne. That arrow was meant for you."

Fighting past his shock, Zuko moved to take the cloth from Sokka (who didn't stop him), wrapping it around the bleeding arrow wound firmly and tying the knot over the wound to apply pressure. It slowly dawned on him that Sokka had just saved his life.

As soon as he had finished, Sokka used the wall to pull himself to his feet. He was looking past Zuko, towards the doorway as he said, "We have to get out of here."

Zuko wasn't sure how to react to this tidal wave of revelation, but after just a second, Sokka had grabbed his arm and was pulling him along.

They were out of the room and descended a set of stairs, Sokka tugging him away from the doorway that led towards the plaza, and instead down a hallway, when Zuko finally had put together his thoughts enough to protest. "Where are we going?"

"To hide in the bunkers. Your uncle said you would know where to go."

He did know, but when Iroh had shown him the hidden room amongst the tunnels under the city, Zuko had secretly resolved never to hide there. He would never be his father. "But what about the others? Isn't everyone in danger?"

Sokka didn't turn and look at him, just kept dragging him along. "Aang and Katara are out there and Iroh and Toph have probably joined them by now. Not to mention a handful of soldier and warriors and benders from the other nations. They'll be fine."

"But," Zuko tried to protest. They were headed towards another staircase, towards the underground rooms of the temple. He was cut off before he could even offer an argument.

"The second you go out there, those archers are going to rain arrows down on you and there's no doubt one of them is going to get you. They get you, they win."

"But that means the others are in as much danger as I would be!" Zuko argued.

Sokka ignored him and tugged harder, quickened his pace.

"Sokka, stop!" Zuko demanded, beginning to struggle against Sokka's tight grip on his wrist. "I'm not a child, I can defe-"

"Exactly, you're not a child," Sokka told him heatedly. "You're the FIRE LORD. And if something happens to you, the entire world is at war again. So give that stupid pride of yours a rest and let's go."

"Nothing will happen to me. I'm a warrior and a firebender-" he yanked his arm out of Sokka's grasp, standing firm, "and I refuse to run and hide like my father did! They need our help back there! How can you run away when we could do something about it?"

Sokka spun on him, emotion raw in his eyes-was that panic Zuko saw?-and he told him quickly, his voice rising as he spoke, "Look, your uncle told me to protect you, no matter what. He told me to get you away from harm. You think I don't care what happens to the others? Of course I do, but you were already almost killed back there, and I'm not going to let them have another chance! Don't you DARE make me fail to save another person I-"

But Sokka stopped and suddenly looked mortified, he turned back around, grabbed Zuko's arm again, and pulled Zuko along as quickly as he could.

Zuko couldn't muster the strength to argue anymore.

_break_

After he realized Zuko wasn't going to fight him anymore, he let go of the older teen's wrist. He'd done what he needed to do, even if he'd almost admitted something he'd never wanted to admit. Zuko was going with him now with no further arguments. He'd be able to keep the Fire Lord safe.

Once they got to the door Sokka had originally come through, Zuko reopened it with a fireball and they headed into the tunnels.

At that point, Sokka had to let Zuko take the lead. Sokka had only been in the tunnels once before, so he had no clue where they were going-and he knew the tunnels were scattered with traps that only the Royal Family would be able to avoid.

But as they walked, he thought his breaths were too short, and he felt exhausted. Sure, he hadn't slept well in three nights and it had been a long morning, but the excitement was hardly over. He still had to make sure Zuko would be alright. The tunnels were dim, despite the fire Zuko carried in hand, as his uncle had, but Sokka couldn't help but feel the tunnels were even dimmer, perhaps even that they were going in and out of focus.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him and he stumbled, catching himself on the wall with a small 'oof'.

The sound made Zuko stop and he threw the flame in his hand into a lantern on the wall. "What's the..."

Zuko trailed off before he finished, his eyes, wide and scared, on Sokka's arm. The younger teen followed the gaze.

Blood had soaked through the makeshift bandage, stained it black in the dim lighting, but it wasn't just the bandage. His entire arm was covered in blood that had been seeping from the wound.

Sokka's eyes widened to match Zuko's. "Why... why is it bleeding like this?"

The wound may have been deep, but it wasn't wide. The knot was in the right place. The pressure should have made the bleeding taper off quickly. This wasn't right.

"The archers," Zuko said in a stunned voice. "Were they the Yu Yan Archers?"

Sokka nodded tightly. "Why?"

"They..." Zuko struggled out, "they sometimes dip their arrows in poisons. One of the poisons stops wounds from clotting so that the person will bleed out until they die."

Sokka's heart throbbed. He was suddenly afraid for more than just Zuko's life. "Is there a way to stop it?"

The firebender gave a sharp nod, his frown distinct and his worry obvious. He said hesitantly, "The only way is to cauterize the wound."

"Cauterize it?" Sokka asked, "You mean... burning it?"

Zuko nodded again. There was a fretful look in his golden eyes, an apologetic look made in advance, as if sorry he even had to suggest burning Sokka.

But Sokka didn't want to see that look there. If that was what Zuko had to do, he had to do it. The fact that it was obvious Zuko had never wanted to firebend against him again was enough to comfort Sokka into letting him do it. He tried to smile at Zuko to ease his burden. "If that's what you need to do, do it. It's better than bleeding to death."

Zuko returned the uneasy smile and agreed, "yeah."

He helped ease Sokka to the ground and quickly went to work. Sokka watched as Zuko began to throw off the heavy Fire Lord garb, untying the chest plate and quickly shedding the top robe. He doubled the sleeve over and twisted it, offering it to Sokka with the instruction, "Bite down on this. It'll help."

Sokka did as he was told, but not without a growing feeling of apprehension.

Zuko's hand moved quickly to the knot over the wound and he nimbly untied the bandage, threw the bloody cloth to the side.

An apology was back on his face as he put his hand over the small arrow wound; his other hand took Sokka's into his own gently and gave it a squeeze. He told him, "Okay."

The hand on his wound slowly heated up, hotter, hotter, but Sokka tried not to focus on it. He bit down on the sleeve in his mouth, inadvertently tightened his grip on Zuko's hand, and tried to focus on how holding Zuko's hand felt.

But the pain quickly became too much, grew and grew and grew and then became WHITE HOT, his eyes squeezing shut, his jaw clenching so hard he thought it might crack, his hand clamping down on Zuko's like a vice grip, holding on for dear life-he could feel himself screaming into the cloth, but he couldn't hear it through the intensity of the pain in his arm. And then, as slowly as the pain had built, it dropped off, dulled, until it was just an unpleasant tingle, until the pain was hidden in the shadow of the initial burn.

As the pain faded, Sokka felt his entire body relax, let go, and he spit the makeshift gag out of his mouth, his breathing ragged.

Then, before Sokka knew what was happening, Zuko's hand had let go of his, his other hand was off the former wound, and Zuko threw his arms around Sokka's neck and held him tightly and through the embrace, he could hear Zuko's muffled voice, whispering over and over, "I'm sorry."

_break_

He'd never wanted to burn someone. Not like that, not ever. It made the left side of his face feel like it was tingling at the memory of the pain (though he had no sensation there), like his face was being scarred and he was being rejected all over again. A burn was a sign of shame to anyone in the Fire Nation, and Zuko had just shamed Sokka, in the way that his father had shamed him so few years ago.

And hearing Sokka's pain ripping from his throat, seeing it on his face, was too much. He remembered the pain all too well, the SEARING, and hearing Sokka scream, knowing he had caused that pain, ripped at his heart. It made him sick to his stomach.

Even knowing that he'd needed to do it in order to save Sokka's life was only a minimal comfort.

Zuko grabbed onto Sokka tightly, wishing the pain of the burn away, wishing the teen would forgive him for it. He buried his face against his own arm, apologizing, again and again, unable to stop himself.

It wasn't until Sokka's good arm moved around his back, returned the embrace, and he hushed Zuko softly that Zuko found the will to shut his mouth.

Zuko took a deep breath to calm himself; he closed his eyes, trying to relax. But it was Sokka's hand on his back, rubbing him slowly, that did more than anything to slow his heart rate and calm his sudden nausea.

"It's okay," Sokka told him in a low voice, "You had to do it. You just saved me from bleeding to death."

Zuko nodded, wanting to accept the comfort Sokka was offering him, but ashamed of himself for needing it at all. Sokka was the one who'd been shot, then burned, and here he was giving in to Zuko's silly shames. Not to mention that it was saving Zuko's life that had put Sokka in this danger in the first place.

The side of Sokka's face pressed against his and he told him, "Come on, let's go. Your uncle's going to meet us somewhere down here, right?"

"Yeah," Zuko replied. But he suddenly felt reluctant to move. He didn't want to pull away from Sokka.

Sokka was right though. In the halls, there was still a chance they could be discovered, and when his uncle came to retrieve him, he would be going to meet him in a certain bunker. If Iroh got there and Zuko wasn't, the man would worry and Zuko didn't need to add that to his guilt.

He sighed and moved to get up-but when Sokka tried to join him, he stumbled. Luckily, Zuko was still close and he caught Sokka before he could fall.

"You've lost a lot of blood," Zuko told him with an edge of worry in his voice. "Put your arm around me, so we can get going."

Sokka didn't argue. He swung the good arm around Zuko's shoulders and together, the two of them made their way through the halls. The taller teen leaned more and more heavily on him as they went.

Finally, they reached the room he and his uncle had decided on. It wasn't the same bunker that his father had used. This one was smaller, with less decoration, but it had a small mattress. The room was meant to be comfortable and Zuko much preferred it. His uncle had picked it, figuring that if Zuko had to hide, he may need to do so for a while (and might as well have somewhere cozy to be)-and besides, Ozai's old bunker was the first place any enemy who got that far would look.

Zuko popped open the door with three simultaneous fireballs and he helped drag Sokka inside.

"Come on, lie down," Zuko told Sokka softly. They would be safe here and Sokka had earned some rest. He should lie down and sleep, conserve his energy until Iroh came to get them.

But Sokka refused. He let Zuko lead him to the bed, but he instead sat on it, back against the wall. "I'm fine."

Zuko frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Sokka, you should rest."

"I'm fine," Sokka told him again, more firmly. "I'm not going to sleep until I know you're okay."

"I am okay," Zuko insisted, trying to give Sokka a small smile, as if that would prove it. "No one will find us here. We'll be fine."

The teen shook his head, but he offered no further verbal opposition. Like a stubborn child holding his breath, he simply wasn't going to do it.

Zuko frowned, completely unsure how to argue with him. It seemed like every time he tried, Sokka won. Sokka wanted Zuko to hide and Zuko hid. Sokka refused to rest and it didn't seem like Zuko could make him.

So he gave up. It wasn't as if Sokka would be exerting himself too much just sitting there, so despite his slight worry for the teen's condition, he moved further back onto the bed, taking a seat next to Sokka, resigned to wait for his uncle to come rescue them.

After just a moment though, Sokka's voice interrupted the silence. "Talk to me."

_break_

In even just the few seconds of quiet, Sokka could feel his eyelids growing heavy. He was exhausted, and now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was in pain. The back of his head was throbbing again, his arms were stinging from the rope burns, and his bicep, his entire upper left arm, was sore from the shot and the burning that had healed it. He was aching all over.

And the warmth of Zuko next to him was all too comforting.

But he needed to stay awake. He refused to let himself fall asleep without knowing that the threat was over and that everyone was safe. He wouldn't fail again.

So he asked Zuko to talk to him.

The older boy responded in a surprised voice, "About what?"

"I don't care," Sokka told him. "Talk, ask me something, anything."

It took a few seconds for Zuko to come up with something, but then he told some silly story about one of his dinners with his uncle, and Sokka smiled faintly. Sokka added another story about Iroh-and they continued for several minutes that way, exchanging silly stories, stories that might have seemed too insignificant to share had they not been digging for things to fill the silence.

Eventually, Zuko asked him about what had happened to lead up to that day and Sokka told him. He told him about the soldiers at night, about the Colonel and then about he and Toph's discovery and capture and about Masa's confessions. He told him about getting out of the ropes, and then Iroh leading them into the city. At some point, Sokka realized that Zuko's hand was sitting over his own.

When he caught Zuko up to his mid-speech tackle at the temple, he tapered off and it was silent again. Sokka suddenly had no idea what he was going to say next.

And then, after a few quiet moments, Zuko asked him, "Earlier, you said..."

Sokka tensed before Zuko could even finish, already knowing what he was going to ask.

"You said something about failing to protect me. About failing to protect another person you..." Zuko trailed off where Sokka had, obviously unsure of how the statement ended. "What were you going to say?"

Sokka's head dropped completely. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this one. He didn't know if he could. Sokka had already told Zuko about Princess Yue, and the Fire Lord was no fool. Surely he already had some idea of what Sokka had been about to say.

He was silent, though. He couldn't bring himself to tell Zuko exactly what he felt.

"Sokka?" Zuko questioned softly as his hand tightened on Sokka's.

After a few more minutes, the silence became unbearable and finally, Sokka spit out, "Need."

Zuko hesitated for a split second before questioning it. "What?"

"Another person I need," Sokka told him, repeating the whole phrase. "I need you."

But before Zuko could react, the door opened quickly and both boys looked to see Iroh standing there, smiling and a bit dirty, but hardly worse for the wear. "All the traitors have been captured, and everyone is fine."

Sokka glanced up at Zuko in time to see a faint blush on his cheeks before he pushed himself off the bed and went to hug his uncle. Iroh said softly to his nephew, "I am so happy to see you are safe."

After a second, he pulled away and his gaze fell on Sokka, at which point, Iroh jumped and stepped towards him asking with concern, "What happened?"

Zuko began to explain, but Sokka's hearing had faded out. The exhaustion was immediately attacking his brain again, as if Iroh's announcement that everyone was alright had flipped some magic switch in his brain that had been keeping him from dozing off.

Sokka was asleep before he fell over onto the bed.

_break_

After quickly updating his uncle on what had happened, the two of them didn't hesitate to carry Sokka back up to the surface to a real bed, to be examined by a real doctor. Of everyone who'd fought that day, Sokka had probably taken the most damage. Other than a few scattered scapes and bruises, most of them were fine.

Some of the soldiers on the other side of the battle hadn't faired so well, but none of them would have trouble recovering. In prison, of course.

The doctor examined Sokka alone and Zuko waited outside his room the entire time, anxious for news. Even though Iroh had told him the teen would probably be fine, Zuko couldn't help but worry. The others hadn't seemed concerned after Iroh had comforted them, and they were waiting down the hall for any further information.

He couldn't help but think about what Sokka had just told him. Sokka needed him? What did that mean? Why would Sokka need him?

His thoughts kept rushing back to the statement, to its context. Zuko had learned about what had happened with the Northern Water Tribe Princess. Between scattered information from his uncle, and from Aang, Zuko knew that Sokka had been close to the Princess, if not perhaps in love with her. Zuko knew that he'd been assigned to protect her. Then Zhao had killed Tui, the Moon Spirit, and the princess had sacrificed herself to restore it. The princess became the Moon Spirit, and though it saved the moon, Sokka had technically failed to save the princess. He'd failed to protect someone he... needed.

But if Sokka had meant that towards the princess in the same way he'd meant it towards Zuko...

The Fire Lord wasn't sure he was daring enough to make such a connection. He felt he was too hopeful for it to be true.

Eventually, the doctor came out of Sokka's room and told him that thanks to the Lord's rough cauterization of the wound, Sokka would recover. Though he'd be in pain a while, there was nothing especially wrong with him. In fact, only the burn was likely going to hurt for more than a few days.

He also said that Sokka was awake, and at that, Zuko thanked the doctor and hurried into the room.

Inside, he closed the door behind him and looked at Sokka from across the room. The teen was sitting up in bed, propped against the pillows, sheets pulled up to his waist. His ripped tunic was gone and his arm had been cleaned and bandaged.

Sokka's eyes fell on Zuko, and then he seemed to remember what he'd said earlier and he looked away, looking embarrassed.

"How are you doing?" Zuko asked quietly, slowly approaching the younger teen.

He shrugged lightly and said, "I'll live."

"That's good," Zuko told him with a faint smile. Eventually, he was standing next to Sokka's bed and he hesitated before asking apprehensively (feeling silly for it, as he was the Fire Lord, and it was his palace), "May I sit down?"

Sokka's gaze flickered to him quickly before he replied, "Go ahead."

Zuko did so, but then found that he was unable to look back at Sokka. He was so close to the teen, just a few feet from each other, Zuko could feel Sokka's leg through the blanket near him, he could just lean in and...

The thought nearly made him flush.

When he thought he couldn't stand the quiet another moment, he started, "Did you really m-"

But found Sokka had started to speak at the same time, "Look, about what I-"

They both stopped, looking at each other a bit stunned. Finally, Zuko said, "You go first."

Sokka frowned a little, but didn't look away this time. His chest rose and fell, as if taking a deep breath, before he continued. "About what I said."

There was another long pause where Zuko half-expected Sokka to deny what he'd said, or deny what it meant. He could blame it on blood loss or anxiety or fear, and Zuko probably would have accepted the answer without any argument.

"I meant it," Sokka told him firmly. "I need you, Zuko. Even if it seems ridiculous, you're important to me. I really like you." And then he looked away again before adding, "and I know you might not feel the same way, but I'd like to be with you."

Even realizing the response had been a possibility didn't keep the bluntness of it from bowling Zuko over.

"No, I..." Zuko protected weakly. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, how he was going to respond. He didn't know if he even had a way to argue one way or the other, for or against what Sokka had said-and then he realized that was exactly the problem and he vocalized it, "I like you too, but... I'm not sure what I want."

Sokka looked a little surprised at the answer (and Zuko couldn't blame him), but soon a coy look came over his face, as he leaned towards Zuko, narrowing the gap between them. "Do you wanna find out?"

"How?" Zuko asked nervously.

"Like this," Sokka said.

Before Zuko could question it, Sokka leaned in just a little more and pressed their mouths together.

At first, Zuko was just shocked-his eyes widened as he looked at Sokka kissing him, eyes closed. He was only aware of his heart throbbing in his throat. It took a moment more before it occurred to him to respond, before his own eyes closed and he pressed his lips back against Sokka's.

After Zuko had reacted, Sokka's hand moved to his neck, thumb stroking his cheek, and Zuko encouraged the move by pressing his hand over Sokka's and leaning into the touch. His head was spinning and it didn't help when Sokka flicked his tongue out at Zuko, when he parted his lips and encouraged Zuko to do the same.

They kissed for a long moment before Zuko pulled back, trying to catch his breath as he eyed Sokka with a touch of confusion. "What... are we doing?"

"Looks like we might play the tsungi horn," Sokka replied with a sly grin, but then a thoughtful look came over his face before he decided, "No, actually, this is probably the pipa."

Zuko nearly laughed at the return of the instrument metaphor. "And?" Zuko asked, still unsure of what to think, "is the pipa is right instrument?"

Without giving him a reply, Sokka kissed him hard again, arm wrapping around his neck to pull him close, and Zuko's heart raced. He didn't hesitate to kiss Sokka back, but after a moment, Sokka pulled away from Zuko's mouth and prodded him playfully. "Why don't you tell me?"

When Sokka had pulled back, Zuko found himself trying to follow the movement, not wanting to give up the kiss-he wanted the opposite, in fact. He wanted nothing more than to kiss Sokka harder, to hold him tighter, to... to...

Zuko felt his face heating up at the thought. He wanted to... play the pipa.

He smiled at Sokka, his heart nearly bursting out of his chest, and he'd never felt more right as he told him, "I... think I've found the one."


End file.
